President Trump Tries to Engage the Muslim World

No American president in modern times has disparaged Islam as much as Donald Trump. From the attempted visa ban on Muslim-majority countries to his campaign claims that “Islam hates us” to his Islamaphobic advisers, the president’s record of hostility is well documented.

So his first overseas trip as president is something of a paradox, with a first stop in Saudi Arabia — a major force in the Sunni Arab world —- that includes meetings with members of the royal family, a summit meeting with other Arab leaders and a major speech on Sunday.

Does that mean Mr. Trump has changed his stripes? Given his casual approach to the truth and his malleable belief system, it’s impossible to know his true views on Islam. What we do know is that he needs all the help he can get from Muslim countries to fight the Islamic State. If he uses the speech and the trip to set a new tone with the Muslim world, that would be greatly in America’s interest.

The Saudis, who came to loathe President Barack Obama, are falling over themselves to turn the page. Mr. Trump’s decision to visit Saudi Arabia “lays to rest the notion that America is anti-Muslim,” the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, told reporters early this month, ignoring the fact that the real issue is not whether America is anti-Muslim but whether Mr. Trump is. It was he, after all, who stoked xenophobic fires to win the election.

Mr. Obama worked hard to cultivate the Saudi-American relationship, selling the kingdom $115 billion in arms, providing support in the Saudi war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, pushing Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and making Riyadh his first stop in the Arab world.

But the Saudis never forgave him for endorsing the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt; for refusing to intervene directly in Syria against President Bashar al-Assad; and for negotiating the nuclear deal with Iran, its Shiite enemy, even though the deal made the region safer.

The Saudis and Mr. Trump appear eager to do business and to forge an alliance against Iran. Saudi Arabia has committed to shifting its economy from its dependence on oil and wants American investment to speed that process, while Mr. Trump’s decision to sell the kingdom an additional $110 billion in weapons provides more business for American companies. This is excessive; in exchange, the Saudis should be asked to make a more serious commitment to regional peace, including a political settlement in Yemen.

Along with other Sunni Arab countries, Saudi Arabia is obsessed with Iran, which is unquestionably playing a troubling and mischievous role in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, and the Saudis are pleased with Mr. Trump’s anti-Iran line. But focusing only on Iran ignores the destabilizing activities of Saudi Arabia in Yemen, where Saudi bombs have killed untold numbers of civilians. It also ignores the fact that Saudi Arabia’s conservative brand of Islam has done much to inspire ISIS and other extremists.

Mr. Obama tried to forge a more neutral path, engaging Iran on the nuclear deal and admonishing the Saudis to find a way to live with Iran. There is speculation that the Sunni Arabs and Israel might cooperate in a regional security arrangement. This could be constructive, but not if its only purpose is to ostracize Iran.

With Mr. Trump embattled at home, there’s a real danger that in his eagerness for a successful visit he will agree to almost anything his hosts desire, like more American involvement in proxy wars against Iran in Yemen and Syria. Also, he has shown little interest in human rights and in pressing authoritarian countries to treat their people — especially women, in Saudi Arabia’s case — with respect.

This trip is Mr. Trump’s first chance to act as a global statesman. He will define that role not by accommodating Arab demands but by pursuing a strategy that advances America’s security interests as well as those of its partners.